“The three policy pillars of the neoliberal age — privatization of the public sphere, deregulation of the corporate sector, and the lowering of income and corporate taxes, paid for with cuts to public spending — are each incompatible with many of the actions we must take to bring our emissions to safe levels. And together these pillars form an ideological wall that has blocked a serious response to climate change for decades”. Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything
People: Eliminating the human. Dark empaths. Linguists and forensics. Rhizomatic thinking. Not attending corporate Xmas parties.
Cities: The augmented city (PDF). Sameness of cities.
Futures: 86 great stories of progress in 2024. Some more 2025 predictions.
Tech: Instagram AI characters. Better desalination processes (and more). Insurers and DNA. ChatGPT on Whatsapp. TSMC 4nm in the US. MIT kills links to IS, smooshing, and cards vs earth.
Homomorphic encryption in iOS18.Business: Subscriptions washing machines. Russia artic shipping.
Art: Industrial photography. Public domain addition in 2025 (and more).
AI: The UK AI Opportunity Action Plan. AI as an invasive species.
# Caffeinated Conundrums
In a not-so-distant future, nestled somewhere between the quaint coffee shops that looked suspiciously like they had been cloned from Brooklyn and the relentless march of augmented reality, a peculiar event unfolded in the heart of a city that had swallowed its individuality whole, leaving only a bland aftertaste of gentrified chic. Clara, a forensic linguist turned reluctant detective, found herself entangled in a web of caffeinated chaos when a series of threatening letters began circulating among the employees of an AI startup, promising to reveal their darkest secrets unless they paid a hefty price in the form of corporate secrets.
(You’d think the only thing more complex than the human language would be the human heart, but it turns out, it’s the corporate policy on workplace parties. They’re still figuring out if ‘drinks on the house’ includes the threatening letters.)
Clara, who had once marveled at the intersection of language and technology, now found herself dissecting these letters with the same precision she applied in courtrooms, employing generative AI in her analysis. It was an odd mix of old-world craftsmanship and shiny new tech, much like her favorite coffee shop that served artisanal brews under the watchful eye of an AI barista that could recommend a brew based on your mood—if only it could discern caffeinated desperation from mere ennui.
As she traced the linguistic fingerprints of the letters, Clara couldn’t help but recall the writings of the Luddites, fierce protestors of mechanization who had fought their own battles against the encroaching machinery of their time. She wondered if the tech-fueled world she inhabited was on the brink of a similar uprising, spurred not by the clanking of looms but by the silent algorithms that dictated lives with the chilling efficiency of a well-rehearsed magic trick.
(In the world of AI, the greatest trick is convincing everyone it’s magic when it’s just really, really good at math. And sometimes, the math feels a bit like smooshing a deck of cards—confusing and chaotic enough to make you wish for a straightforward shuffle.)
Meanwhile, her investigation spiraled into the depths of genetic discrimination, where insurance firms were increasingly relying on DNA results to gauge risks, leaving healthy individuals like Bill out in the cold while the algorithmic overlords decided who could afford to live. Clara’s heart ached for those who couldn’t navigate this new world, where their very essence was commodified, much like the subscription-based features of her smart dishwasher that now required more financial commitment than she had ever anticipated.
As she delved deeper, the letters revealed a disconcerting truth—someone within the company was using the very AI meant to enhance communication to manipulate their coworkers, thus creating a digital tapestry of deceit that left Clara feeling as overwhelmed as she did when she first learned about the staggering number of card permutations.
(There are approximately 8x10^67 ways to shuffle a deck of cards, which is why I avoid card games with mathematicians. They tend to take the fun out of losing.)
The tension peaked at the company's annual holiday party, where the 53% of employees who had opted out of the festivities were now represented by a sea of awkwardness and unspoken dread. Clara stood amidst the revelry, grappling with the irony of drunken merriment juxtaposed against a backdrop of corporate espionage under the flickering glow of AR-enhanced decorations. It was a scene that might have been humorous if it weren’t so tragically emblematic of the times.
In the end, Clara exposed the manipulator—a dark empath who had twisted their understanding of empathy into a weapon. As the truth unraveled, she realized that while technology had advanced, the essence of humanity remained the same. It thrived on genuine connection and understanding, a truth that no algorithm could ever replicate, no matter how sophisticated.
And so, in a world that seemed intent on erasing the messy, wonderful chaos of human interaction, Clara found solace in the fact that, for all of AI’s machinations, the heart still beat louder than any machine.